


Snapshots

by IaMcHrIsSi



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Remus Lupin Lives, Sirius Black Lives, Tonks Lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-21
Updated: 2014-12-07
Packaged: 2018-02-22 01:21:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 13,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2489228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IaMcHrIsSi/pseuds/IaMcHrIsSi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snapshots of the Lives of the NextGen in Hogwarts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

So, I'm basically having this huge headcanon for the NextGen of Harry Potter. It's a bit AU, mostly because I'm still not over the deaths of Sirius, Remus and Tonks, so I totally made up my own universe where Sirius reunites with his ex-girlfriend Mary MacDonald during OotP, who saves him during the battle in the DoM, which is why he is there during the battle of Hogwarts to save Remus and Tonks. They all get kind of adopted by Molly so that it's basically one huge family, what was hinted at during the epilogue of DH. Like I said, AU, but I like it way better this way. 

This story is going to be a series of one-shots surrounding the NextGen kids during their time in Hogwarts. I've read a lot of NextGen fics, so there is a possibility I kind of subconsciously stole other peoples headcanons. If that happened and you recognize something I'm sorry I didn't credit you.

I start this with a line up of who is going to be involved.

Lupin Family  
Remus Lupin, DADA teacher at Hogwarts, head of house Gryffindor and Deputy Headmaster  
Nymphadora “Dora” “Tonks” Lupin, Auror, Metamorphmagus  
Edward “Teddy” Lupin, Metamorphmagus  
Lucas “Luke” Lupin, twin to Emma  
Emily “Emma” Lupin, twin to Luke, Metamorphmagus  
Alexandra “Alex” “Lexie” Lupin, Metamorphmagus

Black Family  
Sirius Black, Auror  
Mary MacDonald Black, Healer  
Thomas “Tommy” Black  
Nicholas “Nick” Black

Tonks Family  
Andromeda Black Tonks, Mother of Nymphadora Lupin, cousin of Sirius Black  
Kingsley Shaklebolt, her second husband, Minister of Magic

Potter Family  
Harry Potter, Auror  
Ginevra “Ginny” Weasley Potter, chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, later writes for the Daily Prophet  
James Potter  
Albus Potter  
Lily Potter

Weasley Family  
Arthur Weasley, head of the Department for Relations to the Nonmagical World  
Molly Prewett Weasley

William “Bill” Weasley, head of the Department for Cursebreaking in Gringotts  
Fleur Delacour Weasley, parttime Auror, granddaughter of a Veela  
Victoire Weasley, great-granddaughter of a Veela  
Dominique Weasley, great-granddaughter of a Veela  
Louis Weasley, great-grandson of a Veela, deaf

Charles “Charlie” Weasley  
Michael “Mike” Weasley, his adopted son

Percy Weasley, head of the Department for Magical Transportation  
Audrey Nathan Weasley, a muggle, works in a bookshop  
Molly “Mol” “Mols” Weasley  
Lucy “Luce” “Lu” Weasley

George Weasley, Co-owner of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes  
Angelina Johnson, chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, later their trainer  
Roxanne “Roxy” Weasley  
Fred “Freddie” Weasley

Ronald “Ron” Weasley, Co-owner of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, later Auror  
Hermione Granger Weasley, Head of the Department of Magical Law  
Rose Weasley  
Hugo Weasley

Dursley Family  
Vernon Dursley  
Petunia Evans Dursley

Dudley Dursley  
Joanna Baker Dursley  
Robert “Bob” Dursley  
Olivia “Liv” Dursley

 

I'll most likely post the first oneshot later today and hope you enjoy it. I would really love to get some reviews for it, too.

Of course, nothing belongs to me, it's all JK Rowlings.


	2. On the train I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here's the first chapter, in which Teddy Lupin, Tommy Black and Mike Weasley are in the Hogwarts Express to their very first year.

It was a strange feeling, Teddy decided. He had waited for this moment, it sometimes felt like he had waited his whole life for it, but now, standing there, watching Uncle Sirius, Uncle Charlie and his dad maneuver his trunk and that of Tommy and Mike into the train while Mom stood there with Aunt Mary, it felt as though it wasn't real. As though he was dreaming and would wake up every moment now to realize that he still had to wait a whole year.

But it was no dream. This was reality. He would go to Hogwarts, finally. He would wake up in a dorm tomorrow, without his mother or his siblings, and while his father would be there, he would be a teacher there, so it would be quite different. Teddy looked at Tommy and knew his best friend felt the same. They had always been close, how could they not, with their fathers being so close friends and then being so close in age. Teddy was exactly tree days older than Tommy, and though their actual relation was a whole lot more complicated, they felt like brothers, or maybe very close cousins.

The trunks were in the train, and Teddy, Tommy and Mike hugged their parents for the last time before sitting down and watching as the train pulled out of the station. Teddy knew that his father would apparate to the school in the evening. It felt a bit unfair that they had to sit in the train for hours when it was enough for the teachers to arrive minutes before the feast, but Teddy didn't complain to much. All his uncles and aunts (well, all of those who had visited Hogwarts) recalled their times on the train very fondly.

“Did you hear the last game of the Holyhead Harpies?” Tommy asked Mike. It was always a bit awkward with Mike, because Mike lived in Romania with his father and Tommy and Teddy didn't really know him all that well. Quidditch was something of a safe topic, though, because everybody in the family loved it and with Aunt Angelina and Aunt Ginny playing for the Harpies, the whole family were fans of them.

“Yeah,” Mike said. “I wish I could have been there, but Dad and me sat down and listened to it over the radio.” Mike smiled. He had long dark hair and a rather fair skin, although it was darker than Teddy's or Tommy's. “We were there,” Teddy said. “It was awesome. Aunt Ginny was amazing with that last goal and...” He trailed of when a girl dragging a large trunk stuck her head into their department. She was blond with fair skin and large grey eyes.

“Hey,” she said “Can I sit in here with you? Everywhere else is full.” Teddy and Tommy exchanged a look with Mike, than they simultaneously nodded. Teddy stood up to help her with her trunk. “O thank god,” She said. “I thought I would have to spend the whole ride in the corridor.” Than she looked at them and stuck out her hand. “I'm Chelsea. Chelsea Collins. Who are you?”

They introduced themselves, then they fell into an uncomfortable silence. It stretched for a few minutes before Teddy decided to say something. “And, what do you think which house you will be?” He asked the girl.

“House?” She scrunched up her face. “What sort of house?” Their confusion must have been evident on their faces, because she continued. “I'm not from a magical family. Well, I think I'm not. It's only me and mum, you know, I never met my father. Mum is not a which. We were really surprised when Professor McGonagall turned up. We thought it was a joke first. Are you from magical families then?”

“Yes.” Teddy said. “We're all cousins. Kind of at least. It's complicated. But yes, our families are all magical.” 

“It's going to be really strange for me, I guess.” Chelsea said. “Could you guys explain the whole house business to me?” She asked.

“Well, there are four houses.” Mike said. “When you go to Hogwarts, you put on the Sorting Hat and are sorted into one of them. There's Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.” Tommy continued. “The houses are kind of important. You get a common room and dorms with the other people of your house, there is a house teacher for every house, and the houses compete for the House and the Quidditch cup.” Teddy explained.

“What decides in what house you get?” Chelsea asked.

“Well, Gryffindor is for the brave” Tommy said. “Hufflepuff is known for loyalty, fairness and an affinity for hard work.” Mike said. “And Ravenclaw is for the clever ones.” Teddy continued.

“And Slytherin?” Chelsea asked again.

“Slytherin says it's for the cunning, but it really doesn't have the best track record. A lot of wizards who became evil were Slytherins, you know, and I've never heard of a Muggleborn, that's someone who doesn't have magical parents, become a Slytherin.” Teddy explained.

“So most probably I'm not a Slytherin, then. But what if I fit nowhere? I'm not particularly clever or brave and I hate hard work.” Chelsea looked very worried now.

“Don't worry, you'll fit in somewhere. The Sorting Hat knows what it's doing.” Tommy said. “Also, the house qualities don't have to be the only qualities you have, you know. My mums a Hufflepuff, but she's an Auror, that means she catches evil wizards, and she really brave.” Teddy said. “And Aunt Hermione is one of the cleverest people I know, and she's a Gryffindor, not a Ravenclaw.” Mike said.

“Hey, my mums a cop too!” Chelsea said. “She's a detective with the London Police.” She smiled. “My dad is an Auror, too.” Tommy said. “Mom's a healer. That's pretty cool, too.” He continued proudly.

“What do your parents do, Mike?” Chelsea asked. Mike smiled “I don't have a mum, but dad's working with dragons in Romania. That are huge creatures, you know, and really interesting...” Mike would have continued, but Chelsea's shriek cut him off. “Dragons are REAL?” She squeaked. “Yeah, of course.” Tommy answered. “There are only a few here in Great Britain, though. Dad always says that the chances of meeting one here are really small. And he should know, being the DADA teacher and all.” Teddy said. 

Chelsea wasn't completely satisfied with this answer, but she turned to Teddy. “Your father teaches at Hogwarts? I've looked through my entire list, but I couldn't find a subject called DADA. What is it?” She asked. “It's short for Defense against the Dark Arts. We learn about Boggarts and Grindelohs and creatures like that, and from the fourth year on they teach us light duelling spells like disarming or stunning.” Teddy said proudly. He was happy to know so much already.

Chelsea suddenly stared at him. “What?” He asked. “Your hair just turned blue.” She said matter of factly. Tommy at his side nodded. “Oh” Teddy said, and then concentrated for a moment to turn his hair back to the brown he favored. It was exactly like the hair of his father, only without the flecks of gray. His mother loved bright colors, most often pink, but Teddy did not want to stick out to much. “Is it back to normal?” He asked. Tommy nodded again, then turned to Chelsea. “Teddy's a metamorphmagus, means he can change his entire appearance at will.” Chelsea grinned. “How awesome!” She exclaimed. “I wish I could do that!”

Then she looked serious again. “We were talking about houses. What do you guys think you're going to be?”

Tommy shrugged. “My parents are both Gryffindors, so that would be cool. Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw would be okay, too, I guess, but I really don't wanna be a Slytherin.” He said. Chelsea nodded and turned to Teddy, looking expectantly. “Well, Mum's a Hufflepuff and she's awesome, so that would be cool, and Grandma was a Ravenclaw, so that can't be to bad either. Dad is a Gryffindor though, actually he's the head of house, so it would be both awesome and awkward if I became a Gryffindor. I don't know, I guess I'll just have to face it head on. I'd like to be with Tommy, but that's about as far as my preference goes.” He said. Chelsea nodded again, clearly accepting his reasoning, and then turned to Mike. Mike looked a bit uncomfortable. “I actually haven't thought about it to much, to be honest. Everybody says Weasleys belong to Gryffindor, but I think everything would be okay.” He shrugged. “As long as I get to play Quidditch I'm happy.”

“What's Quidditch?” Chelsea asked. The boys stared at her in horror for a moment. Of course, Teddy thought, if she's muggleborn of course she won't know Quidditch. He shared a look with Tommy and Mike, and then all of them started at once. The rest of the train ride was spent trying to explain the rules of Quidditch to an astounded Chelsea, who, to her credit, seemed to pick up the basic concepts quite quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that's the first one. Keep in mind that I'm not a native English speaker, so there might be mistakes in it. Also, for some reason I always headcanon Andromeda to be a Ravenclaw. I don't know why, it's not mentioned anywhere. Lastly, I would like to say that I don't believe all Slytherins are evil or something like that, but I think eleven year old Tommy and Teddy might believe it. I hope you liked it and please leave a review!


	3. On the train II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, next chapter. This time it's Victoire on the train to Hogwarts.

“You sure you don't want to come with us?” Teddy asked for what felt like the thousandth time. He looked at her worriedly, his hair a dark shade of green. Next to him stood his best friends Tommy, Mike and Chelsea, all with similar expressions. Victoire rolled her eyes. “Yes, Teddy, I am sure. I don't need to be mothered. Everybody in our family found close friends on their first train ride to Hogwarts. And even if for some reason I won't meet anybody I've got like five books in my handbag. I'll be fine.” She said. It was sweet that they wanted to help her, it really was, but she was not three anymore. She did not need to sit with her cousins (and Teddy, Tommy and Chelsea totally counted as cousins). She grabbed her trunk and stalked off.

All compartments were full, but finally she found one with only two girls in it. They seemed to be her age, so she asked them if she could sit with them. They said yes and together they put her trunk under the seats. Then Victoire sat down and studied the girls. The left one had dark skin, curly black hair and pretty chocolate colored eyes. She wore jeans and a green shirt under a black cardigan. The other was obviously of Chinese or at least Asian descent with long dark hair, light skin and blue eyes. She wore jeans too, but her shirt was pink and proclaimed her to be “Daddy's princess”. Victoire had the feeling she had seen her before, but she couldn't quite place her.

The silence stretched, and just when Victoire wanted to say something the dark skinned girl spoke up. “My name is Jess Richards. That next to me is Amy Mills. What is your name?” None of the names rang a bell for Victoire, so she just smiled and said: “I'm Victoire Weasley.”

The other girl's, Amy's, eyes grew wide. “I thought I knew you! We must have met on one of the Order of the Phoenix/Dumbeldore's Army meetings. My mum is Cho Chang, maybe you remember her?” Victoire could have hit herself. Of course. She remembered meeting Amy a few years ago, bu, she reasoned, they had both been seven at that time, so it was probably normal they hadn't remembered immediately. “Yes, I do remember.” She said smiling.

“What is the Order of the Phoenix? Or this Dumbeldone's Army?” Jess asked. “It's Dumbeldore's Army, not Dumbeldone's.” Amy said. Then she looked at Victoire. “I'm actually not so good at explaining it, I guess, because mum almost never talks about it.” Victoire felt a bit uncomfortable. Her parents didn't tell her much about that either, but since basically her whole family safe for Grandma Andy were either Order of the Phoenix, Dumbeldore's Army or both, she had a pretty good idea about it. She didn't usually talk much about it though. Uncle Harry and many of her aunts and uncles were in the gossip section of the Daily Prophet sometimes, and somehow it was never nice things that were said, and most of them were completely wrong, too.

“They were Resistance organizations during the British Wizard War II. About 13 years ago, there was a big bad evil wizard named Voldemort. He had actually been around before, but I never really understood that part. Anyway, about 13 years ago he became really powerful and overtook the Ministry and all that. It was awful, but that's all I know because nobody explains it to me. Anyway, the Order of the Phoenix and the DA, that's short for Dumbeldore's Army, were organizations of underground fighters. Pretty much my whole family belongs to one or both organizations. In the end, there was a huge battle in Hogwarts where Voldemort was defeated. A lot of people from the good side died too, though. My uncle Fred did. He was the twin brother of my uncle George. Uncle George still really misses him. Every now and then there are big meetings where everyone comes together. Amy and I met during one, but it was like four years ago and we didn't really talk much back then.” Victoire finished awkwardly.

Jess' eyes had grown wider and wider during Victoire's story. “There was a wizard war in Great Britain?” She asked incredulously. “Only 13 years ago? My dad's a historian, but he never mentioned anything like that.”

“It was covered up really well, you know. There is the whole International Secrecy Pact thing, so the Ministry made sure to clean up the mess.” Amy shrugged. 

“Yes, but only 13 years ago? There's not going to be another war, is there?” Jess asked. She looked rather worried, so Victoire put on her best “big-sister-everything-will-be-fine” face and said: “Well, nobody can say for sure, but I don't think so. Voldemort is dead, and the Death Eaters, that were his followers, are either dead, too, or in Azkaban, the wizard prison. My father always says that this peace is going to last, and I believe him.” A bit of the worry in Jess' expression faded, so that she looked more confused than worried now. “But why isn't there anything about that in any of our books? I've read most of them, and I read “Hogwarts – A history” but I found no mention of a recent wizard war anywhere.”

“There are books about it, a lot of them, but those are not one the book list for first years, and since the author of “Hogwarts – A history” died, there won't be an actualized version of that, either.” Amy said matter of factly. “I always wanted to read one of those books, but mum says they are mostly made up and incorrect. I think dad read one or two. He wanted to understand mum better, you know. He is a cop in Liverpool, and he had no idea that magic existed until he met mum. That was after the war, and well, the war influenced mum greatly, I think. He wanted to know how it changed her and why. She caught him doing that, and they had a huge fight about it. The book he had picked was written by a woman named Rita Skeeter, she's a journalist who also writes for the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly, and apparently mum hates her.” Amy explained. Victoire snorted. “Nobody can stand Rita Skeeter.” She said. “That woman is like a plague.” She turned to Jess. “You see, my uncle Harry is quite famous, and aunt Hermione, uncle Ron and uncle Sirius too, and then the husband of my kind-of-grandmother is the Minister of Magic, so the family ends up in the gossip sections quite often. There was an article last week as to why my uncle Charlie isn't married yet. Such stuff. Mostly either very poorly researched or it's blatantly wrong. It's really annoying. And Rita Skeeter always writes the worst articles. My aunts and uncles usually have a get together when she writes again and laugh a lot, but I think it's horrible.” Victoire's voice had grown louder and more angry during her answer. She took a deep breath to calm herself.

“Why are so many out of your family famous?” Jess asked curiously. “Well, aunt Hermione, uncle Ron and uncle Harry were somehow really important in defeating Voldemort. Nobody ever really explained that part to me. And uncle Sirius was wrongly imprisoned after the Wizard War I. They said he had killed another wizard and a lot of bystanders. He hadn't, so he broke out and after the Wizard War II they were able to proof his innocence. It was in all the papers, Grannie always says.” Victoire shrugged.

“Is that Grannie your kind-of-grandmother or...?” Jess asked. Victoire smiled. “No, that's Grandma Andy. Grannie is my father's mother. It's complicated, and my family is huge, but I really like that, you know? I've got a cousin, two kind-of-cousins and Chelsea, their best friend who is also a kind-of-cousin by now already in the school. They are third years. And Uncle Remus teaches Defense against the Dark Arts. He's also head of house Gryffindor and Deputy Headmaster.” Victoire declared proudly.

“Yeah, mum says Professor Lupin is amazing. He already taught her, back when she was in Hogwarts.” Amy said to Jess. Then she looked at Victoire. “Do you play Quidditch? Because mum did, and I love Quidditch and all, but I'm really crap on a broom.” Victoire actually did breath a sigh of relief. “I love Quidditch, too, but me on a broom is a horror story.”

“Quidditch is the wizarding sport, isn't it?” Jess asked. “I've read a bit about it. It sounds really dangerous.” Amy smiled. “Yeah, it is, but it's amazing. Mum played in her time in Hogwarts. She was the Seeker of the Ravenclaw team. I think there were actually quite a few members of Vic's family who played, too.” Then she stopped. “Is it okay if I call you Vic? I should have asked.”

“No, it's fine. And you're right, there are lots of people in my family playing Quidditch...” And Victoire launched into a story about her aunts Ginny and Angelina, while she felt a warm feeling spread in her chest. She had been right. She had found friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that's my first impression of Victoire. Cho Chang did marry a muggle in canon, so I decided to play a bit with the idea. I hope you liked it, and please leave a review!


	4. On the train III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the next one. This time: Emma and Luke Lupin.

The compartment was bigger than Emma had expected. She had heard so many stories about this train that she had thought she'd almost know it, but now sitting here, she realized that she had been wrong. But that was just as well, she thought, if everything is bigger than expected that could only be good. She looked to her twin brother Luke who was looking around in awe like she had. She knew he was thinking the same as she did, they were twins after all. Even though they were not completely the same as Uncle Fred and Uncle George had been, with them being a girl and a boy and Luke not being a Metamorphmagus and all, but they still always knew what the other thought.

Luke's eyes found hers and she knew that the grin on his face was matched by the one on hers. They were finally going. After years of stories, of listening to Teddy and Tommy and Mike and Chelsea and Victoire they were finally going to go to Hogwarts themselves!

The door opened. A boy with black hair and green eyes stepped in. It was a nice shade of green, Emma shortly considered morphing her eyes to match, but decided against it. Her eyes matched Luke's today, and she wanted to look like him. At least a bit. (Her hair was pink like her mother's.)

“Can I sit with you guys?” The boy asked. He looked to be their age and was looking at the compartment with similar wonder as they had only moments ago. Probably a first year like us, then, Emma concluded.

“Sure, come in.” She said. They helped him put the trunk away. She noticed him looking at her hair curiously and flicked it out of her face smiling. She was not Teddy who had needed years to be comfortable with standing out because of his hair color. Her father always said that she was to much like her mother for that, she wanted to stand out, to be noticed.

Luke looked at the boy, too, and raised an eyebrow. “I'm Luke”, he said, “and that is my twin sister Emma.” Emma smiled at the boy and let her hair become a bit darker. The boy blinked.

“I'm Marcus. And did your hair just change color?” He looked very interested.

“Yep. I'm a Metamorphmagus, means I can change my appearance at will. My mum's one too, and my older brother and my little sister.” She grinned. “And I'm the odd one out.” Luke shrugged. “Well, me and dad. And grandma.”

“That is... pretty cool, I guess.” The boy – Marcus - said. He looked as though he wanted to say more, but the door opened again. This time it was a girl with chestnut colored hair and gray-blue eyes. She wore jeans and a blue shirt with a bit dirt on the right side.

“Can I sit with you? Everywhere else is full or people so obviously older that I didn't want to ask. Could you help me with my trunk? It's really heavy and I've dragged it here all way from at least three wagons that way.” She pointed right, without stopping to talk. “I'm Lyla Warren, by the way. And your hair is amazing.” She said looking at Emma.

It took them a moment to react after this wave of speech, but eventually Emma stood up, grinning brightly, and helped Lyla put away her trunk. “I'm Emily Lupin, but call me Emma. Everybody does. That over there with the mouth hanging open is my brother Luke, and the other one is Marcus. And look at this”, she concentrated and changed her hair to an acid green and back again.

“That's like the coolest thing ever! How do you do that?” She asked excitedly.

 

“Metamorphmagus. Means I can change my appearance at will. It's pretty awesome, because my parents can't tell me not to have a certain hair color. Of course, they wouldn't either way, because my mum has her hair pink usually, too.” Emma said.

“So your family is all magic?” Lyla asked. “Mine isn't. Are you related to Professor Lupin? He was the one to come and explain things to my father. He also took me to Diagon Alley. He's pretty awesome.” Lyla talked with an impressive speech, and the boys were still looking rather dumbfounded.

“He's my dad. And yep, he is awesome.” Emma beamed. She was very proud of her father. After all, he was a member of the Order of the Phoenix, a war hero, he had an Order of Merlin first class, he was everybody's favorite professor and the head of Gryffindor and he was also a role model for so many children who were affected by lycantrophy. How could she not be proud? 

“He explained everything to me with was great, 'cause I think I'd be lost without it. I totally never expected there to be a whole wizarding world! Magic is absolutely awesome!” Lyla grinned. Emma grinned back. Luke and Marcus looked a bit uncomfortable. 

“Did you guys read all the books? Because someone at Flourish and Blotts said they would, but I didn't really read everything. Like, it's really interesting and all, but especially in transfiguration they lost me quite quickly, I just didn't get what the book was trying to tell me.” Lyla asked, looking around.

“Nah, of course not. I read through it a bit, because some teachers like to ask questions and you can get house points for the right answers, but that's it. Of course, my aunt Hermione knew the books by heart before entering Hogwarts, but nobody else in my family did and they all turned out fine.” Emma answered. 

Lyla nodded and turned to the boys. “And you guys?” She asked.

Luke shrugged. “Like Emma. Read a bit, but not to much. That's what the teachers are for, isn't it?” He looked at Marcus, who shrugged too. “I've read a bit more, because mum says it can never hurt to know what's in the books. But I certainly didn't read them all.” Marcus said.

Lyla breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank god. I was a bit worried I'd be behind to much. Do you guys have any good games? I've got cards, but nothing else. Do you guys play cards?” The speed of her speech had not slowed down the whole time, which Emma didn't mind, because she usually spoke so fast, too, but seemed to confuse the boys a bit.

“I've got Exploding Snap.” Marcus said. 

“Cool! I've never played it. Can you explain the rules to me?” Lyla asked. And so they played for the rest of the train ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's shorter than the others, and I'm not really content with it, mostly because I don't really have a grasp of Marcus yet, but I hope you liked it anyway. Please leave a review!


	5. On the train IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the next one. The much feared successors of the Weasley twins, here come Dominique, Molly II and Roxanne Weasley!

Victoire and her friends had followed them to the compartment and made sure everything was alright before finding one for themselves (Dom had rolled her eyes and muttered something about not being a baby anymore, but Roxy thought it was a nice gesture and Molly had seemed to agree, if her slightly nervous smile was any indication) and Mike, Teddy, Tommy and Chelsea had shown up about half an hour ago to make sure everything was alright (The prefect batch had glittered on Teddy's chest, not screaming for attention like it always seemed to on the old photos of Uncle Percy, no, it had seemed almost careless, as though it was an afterthought, as though Teddy had forgotten it was there. Roxy knew for fact that Teddy was very proud to be named prefect like his father had been, especially after Professor McGonagall had personally assured him that his father had not been involved in the process of choosing the Gryffindor prefect this year, but Teddy had never been the boasting type.) For now it was only the three of them, but Roxy kind of expected the Lupin twins to drop in at some point (They were only second years themselves, but that was a year older than them, at least.)

Such is the curse of a huge family, Roxy thought, but she grinned. She wouldn't want it any other way, even with mothering relatives everywhere and a teacher who was her kind of uncle (which meant that the family would know of every prank the evening of the given day).

On the other bench Molly pulled out a piece of parchment (she always liked to write things down orderly, making lists and plans, one of the habits dad said she had picked up from Uncle Percy). “Who do we prank first? After all, we do have huge expectations to live up to!” Molly said. Dom, next to Molly, grinned, and Roxy found herself grinning as well. There were certainly a few expectations on them, with being the daughter and two nieces of one of the legendary Weasley twins and founders of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes as well their self-appointed successors.

“Well, uncle Remus, or Professor Lupin now...” Roxy started, but Dom interrupted her. “Professor Lupin sounds wrong. Let's still call him uncle Remus? Makes things easier.” She requested. “We do have to call him Professor Lupin in class, you know that?” Molly asked. “I know, Molls, although it would be cool if we didn't...” At the glares from both Roxy and Molly Dom sighed “You're right, you're right, but at least in private, okay? Teddy and the twins still call him “dad”, don't they?”

Roxy nodded, and said: “As I was trying to say, I think uncle Remus would be a bad idea, simply because for one he knows us and also he is a member of the legendary Marauders, so chances are that any prank we might plan he probably already did with Uncle Sirius and James Potter back in the day. Professor McGonagall is also a bad idea, because uncle Remus as well as our parents most likely warned her, and I while my dad would probably just laugh if I got detention in my first week, your fathers, yours especially, Mol, would probably be pissed.” She finished.

Molly nodded. “Absolutely right, he's still not really over the part where I am not as rule abiding as he is. So, uncle Remus and Professor McGonagall are out. Who's next on the list? Professor Flitwick?” Molly asked.

“Nope” Dom said. “He already taught when the Marauders went to school, meaning he also knows every one of uncle Fred and uncle George's pranks. Same for Sprout, even though I think maman said Sprout would retire sometime soon. How about that astronomy witch, Vic told me her name, Senesa or something?”

“Sinistra, it's Professor Sinistra.” Roxy reminded her. “She's newer, dad says she had only started a couple years before he and uncle Fred came to school, so there's a good chance she'll not be that much on guard.”

“And it's going to be night. Astronomy lessons are on midnight, dad said, so nobody is going to be awake enough to notice if we do something out of ordinary either...” Dom said with a slightly mean glint in her eye that made Roxy a bit wary (Dom wasn't a bully by any means, but she did have quite a mean streak which she always credited to her huge family and having to be strong to stick out there). (Roxy did have a bit of a mean streak too, as did Molly. Dom's was just more noticeable because she was generally a louder personality and spend a lot of time proving to everybody how different she was from perfect Victoire (who actually wasn't perfect and never claimed to be, but Dom thought so)).

Molly grinned while writing down something. “So, Sinistra first. We'll need to make sure not to get caught, so maybe something that looks like an accident?” She asked.

“On of the annoying ones might be best.” Dom said. “Any ideas, Roxy? Something from your dad's stuff that could help?”

The equipment was mostly Roxy's responsibility, with her being the daughter of the owner of the biggest chain of joke shops in Great Britain and all. Before she had boarded the train her father had indeed given her quite a few of his products, smiling and making her swear not to tell her mum (or his). She thought for a moment. “There is one of the new products dad gave me, chalk that writes with horrible grammar or spelling mistakes. We could stage a bit of a distraction and exchange the one she would use with on of those. Should irritate her horribly, and give us one entertaining lesson.” She said grinning. They had played a similar prank on uncle Percy once, with parchment that would change every word into an insult. It had taken him two hours and an intervention from aunt Audrey, who, although a muggle herself, had figured out what was happening quite quickly once she got involved. 

Molly was still writing. “So, enchanted chalk for Professor Sinistra. Any ideas about the distraction?” She asked, looking around.

In that moment, the door of the compartment opened and in came the witch who sold the sweets. Roxy and her cousins had gotten a bit money from the family to buy some sweets, and so they bought chocolate frogs and a few bags of Bertie Botts Beans. The witch smiled at them and left.

“You know what? Let's stop planning for the moment. I haven't eaten anything since breakfast, and it must be around noon already.” Molly said, putting away parchment and quill.

Roxy nodded quickly, she was hungry too, and from the look of it Dom was too. So they ate their sandwiches and chocolate frogs (one almost escaped through the open window) and finally opened the beans, just as Emma and Luke showed up. They looked at the three Weasleys suspiciously, knowing them and their tendency to prank pretty much everyone a bit too well, but eventually left, although not without stealing a few beans.

As soon as they were gone, the girls started giggling, and Molly got her parchment back up so they could go back to planning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm almost sorry for the teachers.... I hope you liked it! Please leave a review!


	6. On the train V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a new chapter! This time, another group of pranksters: Jim Potter, Nick Black and Alex Lupin!

Nicholas Sirius Black yawned. He was more tired than he could ever remember being. The last days had been a flurry of packing and going over everything and last minute lectures about please not getting expelled in the first week (mostly from his mother. His father still held the record for the fastest ever detention upon arriving at Hogwarts for the first time). Now all Nick wanted to do was sleep for, like, a week. A week around in the compartment told him that the other two were just as tired as he was. Jim Potter's hair was even more of a mess than usual and his hazel eyes were closed, while Alex Lupin's usually neon colored hair had changed to a deep, tired blue. He hadn't really have much chance to talk to them during the last week, but he knew it had been similar with them.

Alexandra Andromeda Lupin and James Arthur Potter where Nicks best friends. The three of them did almost everything together, and had done so ever since he could remember. Jim was the oldest by two month, then came Alex, and lastly, Nick. They were, in certain ways, and odd trio, and still people often said they had known the three of them would be friends from the moment they were born. Nick was his parents late miracle, born long after they had thought possible. His brother Tommy had been considered a late baby already, and then, six years later, there had been him, Nick. He could be his parents grandson, but he didn't like thinking about that to much. Nick was very much his fathers son, even though he was blonde like his mother. He was a prankster, a little shit, as Tommy would say. He was rather careless and never backed down from a dare, what tended to drive his mother near insane. He had a quick wit and a quicker mouth, leading him to often say things first and thinking later, what got him into trouble really often. But he could always count on his best friends to help him out, so that was okay.

Jim Potter, the oldest of their group, was uncle Harry's and aunt Ginny's oldest son. He had jet black hair like his father and his mothers hazel eyes, and, as Nick's and Alex' fathers often said, his grandfather James' nature. Jim was a prankster like Nick, maybe not quite as careless, but certainly as much trouble. Nick's mother always said that that had to be expected when the Weasley and the Potter line mixed.

Alex, or Lexie, as her parents liked to call her, was very much her father's daughter in that she was mischievous as him and, when she cared for the topic, could be bordering genius like him. However, she was much more extroverted than him, loving bright hair colors (she was a metamorphmagus) and band T-shirts like her mother. Today her eyes were golden in an unnatural, catlike tone. She loved to shock people with her appearance, very much unlike her brother Teddy who had had his hair his father's brown for his whole first two years in Hogwarts before starting to experiment in his third and finally discovering electric blue as his favorite hair color in his sixth year. Even her sister Emma, who liked her hair in bright colors, did not usually change her eyes.

They had spent the last hour discussing possible pranks. They did not want to have to stand back behind Dom, Roxy and Molly Weasley, who were in their third year and already being hailed the infamous successors of the Weasley twins. Jim, Alex and Nick had an even bigger legacy, they had decided. The Weasley twins were legendary, everyone knew that, but the Marauders... that was another class entirely. Once, uncle George had admitted to them just how much the Marauder's Map had helped him and uncle Fred during their time in school.

Of course, they didn't have the Map. They had the Invisibility Cloak, what was a major plus and would help greatly, but uncle Harry hadn't given them the Map, and uncle Remus and Nick's dad had assured them that Harry had had it last. Alex said she thought that maybe Teddy had it, what was all kinds of unfair, because what would Teddy use it for, really? Teddy Lupin was, safe for his blue hair, pretty much a parents dream. He was clever, responsible, played Quidditch and had just been made Head Boy. Nick had the hope that they would receive the Map at the end of the year, when Teddy left the school, but until then, they would have to manage without it. And of course, the other major problem with all plans of pranking anyone was the fact that uncle Remus, one of the Marauders and prankster extraordinaire was a teacher and would probably not hesitate giving them detention. But, even with those problems, they had been able to come up with a few pranks that they would at least try to pull without getting caught.

Now, however, they had decided to catch up on sleep a bit, because they knew that it would be hard to get sleep and work on pranks and pay attention in class (because it was quite obvious that all teachers would report to uncle Remus, and uncle Remus was, well, uncle Remus and would make their life hell if they didn't at least try to learn everything) at the same time.

Suddenly the door opened and three girls came in. Nick recognized them immediately. After all, they were more or less his cousins. The three Weasley pranksters had arrived.

“Hey, you guys tired already?” Dominique asked, flipping her bright red hair out of her eyes.

“How do you expect this to go when you're actually going to class?” Roxy continued seamlessly. Her dark hair with the red highlights was in a braid, like usually, and she wore a trikot of the Holyhead Harpies making her look as though she was going to take of for Quidditch any minute.

“If you're tired already, you won't be able to prank anyone anytime soon.” Molly finished, with a quick, self assured grin. She had the flaming red hair of her grandmother and her father's tendency to use big, complicated words that always made Nick and Jim turn to Alex for explanation, but she was just as mischievous as her cousins and not afraid to break the rules to get a prank done. Nick's dad claimed that that was the reason of most of uncle Percy's gray hairs.

“Oh, leave us alone!” Jim said, but without much force behind it. He, like Alex and Nick too, enjoyed bantering and the friendly competition with the three Weasley girls. They were family after all.

“Oh, impolite!” Dom said with a wicked grin.

“Whatever you're thinking, don't do it. My brother is head boy and my dad is deputy headmaster of the school and I will get them involved if necessary.” Alex said without opening her eyes.

“Now, that would be quite unfair.” Roxy injected.

“Well, I'm not my mother. And now leave. Some of us are trying to sleep here.” Alex said. Her hair changed to a dark red, a sure sign that she was annoyed. Nick and Jim knew to keep their distance from her when her hair got that color, and while the girls didn't know Alex nearly as well as they did, they figured that one out as well. With a last mischievous grin they left.

Alex still didn't open her eyes, but said: “We really need to do something way better than them, you know. They are way to sure in their role as the best pranksters in the school.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a lot of headcannons about those three, but honestly, I'm not sure wether I really captured their dynamic here...   
> Please leave a review!


	7. On the train VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while, but I'm still alive! Here, I offer you Fred II and Louis Weasley.

It was raining and storming outside of the train. It was a gray, scary sky that Freddie saw when he looked outside of the window. Which he didn't. Freddie was more concerned about his cousin Louis.

Louis was two months younger than him. They were both Weasleys, but where Freddie had his mothers dark skin and curly dark hair, Louis looked more like one expected a Weasley to look like: light skin, the typical red hair, freckles. Only the eyes where different. Louis had his mother's blue eyes. That was not what Freddie was concerned about, though. Louis just didn't look comfortable right now, and Freddie had a pretty good idea why. Louis had been born with 90% hearing loss, which, translated into reality, meant that on his own Louis heard basically nothing. It had never really been a problem, because the family had just learned sign language. Louis had not gone to a muggle primary school, so everybody (including the whole extended family with uncles Sirius and Remus and aunts Tonks and Mary) Louis had been around had been able to communicate with him without problems. To Freddie himself sign language was a natural thing, taught to him from the very start, just like French.

But now there were going to Hogwarts, where almost nobody would know sign language, and while Louis was able to lip read, that by no means meant he would understand everything that was said. Once Louis had confided to Freddie that he actually only got half of what was said when he tried to lip read, and that he had to piece together everything else from the context.

So, going to Hogwarts was not going to be as easy as life at home had been. So, about a year ago the family had started experimenting. First they had tried muggle hearing aids. Gramps had been over the moon, completely in love with the technology behind it, and they had worked quite well. Freddie still remembered the look in Louis eyes when he had really heard his mother sing him a lullaby for the first time in his life. But after three weeks the hearing aids had stopped working. Uncle Bill, uncle Sirius, Freddies dad and Gramps had spent a whole week trying to figure out what was wrong before coming to the conclusion that it had been the magic the hearing aids where constantly surrounded with that had caused them to stop working. Louis had been devastated. If the magic at their home could do that, it stood to reason that the magic in Hogwarts would destroy the hearing aids in a day.

They had all started searching again, then. About half a year ago, the healers of St. Mungo's had approached them with a new spell. It worked great, allowing Louis better hearing than even the hearing aids had done. It had to be renewed every two months, but the healers had assured them that it wouldn't be a problem. Everybody had been so overjoyed and relieved that there had been a huge family dinner with everybody, and for a change everybody had actually gotten along without a fight. Still, Freddie knew that Louis was scared and worried about going to Hogwarts. He also knew that Louis might admit that to him, Freddie, but not to everyone else (except maybe his older sister Vic or their maman). And right now, the Patil twins where with them. So no hope getting Louis to talk.

The Patil twins were actually really nice. Their mother was the twin sister of Healer Patil, the one who had discovered the spell which helped Louis so much, and she (their mother) and her twin sister and the twin sister's husband where friends of the family. Freddie didn't know the specifics, but apparently Dean Thomas (the Patil twins uncle) had traveled with Grandma Andromeda's first husband for a while, and had been there when he had been murdered, and after the war he had searched for Grandma Andromeda and had told her everything and Grandma Andromeda had been kind of looking out for him ever since. And the Patil twins mother and aunt, the original Patil twins, where members of the DA and friends of uncles Harry and Ron and aunts Ginny and Hermione. (There was a funny story about how they went to Yule Ball with uncles Harry and Ron once. Everybody burst out laughing whenever it was told). So, Freddie and Louis knew the Patil twins. They had always gotten along really well, Selina being the quieter twin who loved to read as much as Louis did and Samantha the more adventurous one. But Louis wouldn't talk with them present. 

Somewhere down the corridor a compartment door snapped shut. Louis startled. Freddie sighed. Worth a try, he thought, and signed: “Are you okay?” The Patil twins knew Louis had been deaf, but they didn't know sign language, so there was at least a chance that Louis would talk. Both of them looked at Freddie with unabashed curiosity, Sammy definitively mischievous, while Sels curiosity seemed to be more of academic nature. They were identical, both with long dark hair, big dark brown eyes and darkish skin (not as dark as Freddies, but definitively darker that Louis'), but in moments like this, Freddie had no problems telling them apart.

“It's fine, just a bit... worried, surprised, afraid?” Louis signed back, somewhat hesitantly, but he smiled and it actually didn't look forced, so Freddies worry went down a bit. He knew Louis basically since birth, so he was very good at reading his cousin's expressions.

“That's pretty awesome, you know, that you're literally able to talk without opening your mouths.” Sammy said, still looking mischievous. Freddie knew all about mischievous. His father was a famous prankster after all, how could he not? Generally he approved of mischievous, but not when it when Louis was potentially on the losing side. He eyed Sammy critically.

“Don't look at me like that!” She immediately said. “It really is. If you taught us, we could communicate in class no matter whether or not the teacher approves and if we're not completely obvious no one will any wiser.” She had a point there, Freddie had to admit. 

“Uncle Remus knows sign language, you know. He's not going to be fooled by it.” Louis stated matter of factly. He looked better than before, and Freddie almost involuntary shot Sammy a small grateful smile.

“I've read it's really difficult to learn, because it's got it's own grammar and everything. It's really another language, not just the same language with every word substituted with a hand movement.” Sel supplied. 

“Yep, you're right.” Louis answered, and within seconds the two of them were discussing the difficulties of learning new languages, and whether the other had started learning for school yet.

Sammy rolled her eyes at them and looked at Freddie. “They're so going to be Ravenclaws, aren't they?” She asked. Freddie looked at them. He couldn't say that he hadn't thought the same thing. He would love to be in the same house as Louis, but Sammy was right. Louis seemed to be the stereotypical Ravenclaw, and Freddie was just not. He nodded.

“Well, then we two just make sure we end up in Gryffindor together, then it can be like when mum and aunt Parvati where in school together.” She smiled, a bit sadly, and Freddie realized she wanted to be with Sel, too. He grinned. “Keeping up the family tradition then, Patil?” He said. “Absolutely.” Sammy answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I hope you liked it! I originally wrote this one from Louis' POV, but since I'm not deaf myself I had huge problems with that, so I changed it and had to rewrite everything.


	8. On the train VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my favorites now: Rose Weasley, Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy!

Rose Weasley was not sure what to feel when she finally found a compartment together with Al. She was excited, she guessed, a bit afraid, she did, after all, have a legacy to live up to, happy, to be going after years of listening to stories and reading, maybe a bit sad too, because primary school was over now and while she would still write to her old friends, she knew that they would drift apart eventually. She looked at Al and saw the same feelings in his eyes. They had always been close, and they had been in the muggle primary school together, that meant that her friends were his, too. 

The compartment door opened. Al and her had purposefully left a bit space on the benches, because meeting friends on the train was a family tradition (dad and uncle Harry had awesome stories about it, as did Teddy and Mike and Tommy and pretty much everybody). The boy who came in, however, was not who she had expected. She recognized him immediately, how could she not, it had not been ten minutes ago that her father had pointed him out on the train station, after all. Scorpius Malfoy. Up close, he didn't actually look to malicious. He was blond, a similar shade as Victoire, had gray eyes and looked shocked to see them. No doubt his father had had stories, too. Then he straightened and asked politely: “Can I sit here? I can't find an empty compartment.” Rose exchanged a look with Al. Scorpius seemed okay, and in case he wasn't, well, he didn't have any relatives on the train, while Rose and Al had 10 (okay, so technically Nick, Alex, Emma and Luke were closer related to the Malfoys than they were to the Potters and the Weasleys, but they definitively counted as cousins and would help out if called). Al nodded slightly and Rose looked at Scorpius, smiled brightly (everybody always told her that her smile could light up a room, and she was not above using that) and said: “Of course, can we help you with your trunk?” Scorpius seemed surprised, but nodded, and the next minutes where spent shuffling around and making sure the trunk wasn't in the way.

“I guess introductions are in order.” Al said when all sat down again. “I actually know who you are.” Scorpius said, a bit sheepish, but also a bit … defiant? Interesting, Rose thought.

“Yeah, we know who you are too, but let's pretend for a moment that we don't? Because if we don't this could be very awkward very soon.” Al said with that crooked grin of his. He held out his hand. “Hello, I'm Albus Potter, but please call me Al, because Albus sounds like an old man and I'm eleven.”

Scorpius stared at the hand for a moment, then he took it. “I'm Scorpius Malfoy, which sounds horrible but I haven't been able to come up with a non-humiliating nickname yet, so I have to live with it.” He smiled.

“H, I'm Rose Weasley, apparently the only one in the room who is okay with her name.” Rose said. Al and Scorpius started grinning. Win, Rose thought.

“To get that out of the way directly, my father hates your parents.” Scorpius said.

“That's not a problem, or parents hate your dad, too.” Al said. Rose rolled her eyes. “They don't. Well, mum doesn't. Dad probably does.” She said.

Scorpius snorted. “I can't stand my father either, most of the time. Stupid git. He's not as bad ad my grandparents, but almost. Always about blood purity.”

“Our parents told us stories.” Rose said carefully. “Your father didn't look to good in them.” If he hates his father and his grandparents, then maybe he himself isn't so bad, she thought. A quick look at Al told her he was thinking along similar lines.

“Yeah, my father had stories too. In which he liked to conveniently leave out the fact that he was a Death Eater. I've learned not to trust those.” Scorpius sounded bitter. Rose felt for him. She didn't know what she would do if she learned that her father had been a Death Eater.

“How about we leave those past stories in the past?” She asked. Scorpius looked up. “Well, we're here now, not them, right? Let's write our own stories.” She said. Al nodded. Scorpius smiled.

“Are you into Quidditch?” He asked. “My team are the Chudley Cannons. Father says they are a team for losers, but father says crap all the time.” 

“They used to be my dad's favorite team, but then aunt Ginny and aunt Angelina started playing for the Harpies, and the whole family started to support them, so I guess that's my team.” Rose answered. 

“Yep, I kind of have to support them, with mum having played for them and all. She taught us how to fly, mum did, or at least she tried. Jim's a natural on the broom, already made the team and all, but I'm not really talented there.” Al said.

“I'm quite a good flier.” Scorpius said enthusiastically. “I'd love to play seeker. Not sure whether I'm good enough to make the house team, however.” 

“Well, I'm certainly not. I'm not as horrible as mum, really, believe me, mum on a broom is a horror story, I've got no idea how she passed those lessons in the first year. I'm a bit worse than dad, but I will admit that I don't particularly care for heights, so I don't really want to make the team.” Rose said.

“Translation: She's afraid of heights.” Al said, while grinning at Scorpius conspiratorially. Scorpius grinned back. Rose fought down the urge to hit both of them. “There's nothing wrong with having respect of heights!” She said annoyed.

“You will not get her to admit she scared of heights.” Al said. “It's always “I don't particularly care for heights” or “I have respect of them” or “You do know how dangerous that is?”. Everybody knows, though, which annoys Rosie here to no end.” Al grinned. So did Scorpius. Rose resolved to try out the jelly-legs jinx that uncle George had shown her on both of them. “And don't call me Rosie!” She hissed.

Both of them looked at her a bit surprised, and, as she was quite happy to note, just a bit afraid. The conversation stirred into other topics after that, only interrupted once when Jim, Nick and Alex came by (Rose suspected that aunt Ginny had tasked them with keeping an eye on the Rose and Al). They were surprisingly polite to Scorpius, which might be because they shut the door in their face when they looked as though they wanted to make an ugly comment. (They came back, later, and then they behaved. Rose suspected Sarah Wood, the new Gryffindor prefect and Jim's newest crush.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, I jump the bandwagon with making Rose and Al be friends with Scorpius. I think it's cute. I hope you liked it!


	9. On the train VIII

Lucy was scared, simple as that. She was going to go to Hogwarts, the place of all stories. She remembered how giddy her sister had been, how happy her cousins had been, and she tried to be giddy and happy, but all she could think about was the fact that she was not going to see her parent until Christmas. No hasty breakfast because they overslept, no comfortable lunch with mum, no quiet hours of reading with mum or dad or both, no dinner with stories about the day. She already missed it, missed them, now, and she had only been on the train for a few minutes. It must have shown on her face, because Becky laid a warm hand on her knee. “It's going to be okay, you know. We're going to have loads of fun and we're going to write home every day and they're going to write back every day and it's going to be great.” Becky had a soothing voice, and Lucy looked at her gratefully. She was incredibly nervous, but having Becky around really helped. 

Becky Thomas had been Lucy's very best friend ever since both of them had started the muggle primary school together. Not all young witches and wizards did that, actually a lot of them, like Lucy's cousins Victoire, Dominique, Louis, Roxanne and Freddie didn't, but Becky's father was muggleborn and Lucy's mother was a muggle, so their parents had insisted. Not that Becky minded. She had liked the primary school. She had already been able to read when she had arrived, but it had been nice to learn things such as math and muggle history from a real teacher who was specialized in it. Lucy had not had many friends in school, actually only Becky. She was a quiet girl, very shy and very much content to stay inside and read instead of joining the other children in playing outside. Which was another reason why she was scared of Hogwarts. At home she had her own room where she could go, in Hogwarts that would not be the case. There were dormitories, she knew, which meant she would never be really alone. She didn't mind Becky, of course, but there would be other girls. She did not even want to think about the possibility of Becky being sorted into another house than her, even though it seemed likely. Becky was a courageous girl, daughter of two Gryffindors. It seemed only natural that she would be sorted there, too. Lucy on the other hand … her father was a Gryffindor, true, and so was most of her family, but not everyone, and truly, she did not think she was particularly brave. Maybe she would make a good Ravenclaw, like Louis, but then she would be separated from Becky... it didn't help to think about it, she told herself. She could not change it, so she might as well accept it.

“Hey, do you want a chocolate frog?” Becky asked and held out a few. Lucy grinned. She absolutely loved chocolate. It was an awesome comfort food, and she always kept a great emergency stash in her room. Now some of it was in her trunk. She took the frog from her friend and stuffed it into her mouth.

The door opened, and before Lucy or Becky could say anything, three sixth year girls came in. Lucy tried to look annoyed, but she had to smile. Her sister Molly and her cousins Roxy and Dominique could be annoying as hell, but they had always looked out for her. “Everything okay here?” Dominique asked. Molly sat down next to Lucy and ruffled her hair a bit. Then she took out a hair brush and started to braid Lucy's hair. Lucy closed her eyes for a moment and smiled. Molly had always braided Lucy's hair when they were younger, it was only after Molly had left for Hogwarts that their mother started to do it, too.

“Everything's fine.” She heard Becky answer. Becky had been kind of adopted by the three Weasley ladies as a little sister pretty much on first sight back when Lucy and Becky had become friends, a fact which neither Becky nor Lucy minded in the slightest.

“Anyone up for a bit Exploding Snap?” Roxy asked. Lucy heard Becky and Dominique exclaim their delight at the idea, but Molly stayed where she was and continued to braid Lucy's hair.

“It's going to be okay, you know.” She murmured gently.

“Becky said the same thing already.” Lucy admitted. Molly chuckled slightly. Lucy knew exactly how Molly looked in that moment, even without opening her eyes. Molly was beautiful, her hair a couple shades darker than the typical Weasley red, more an auburn than a ginger. It flowed around her head and shoulders without Molly ever having to do much about it. Molly's eyes were grey like their mothers, and she did not have freckles like Lucy did. Molly was absolutely beautiful, like the ladies and princesses in old portraits, only that the portraits were made to look pretty while Molly just was that way. Lucy didn't particularly care how she looked. Sure, she dressed in an appropriate way like her mother had taught her, but she never had the patience for make up or figuring out which cloths complimented her most. Her mother said that would come eventually, but Lucy did not think so. She kind of hoped it wouldn't happen, if she was being honest, because if it did, she would inevitably end up envying Molly. And envy could become jealousy and jealousy hatred very easily. Lucy did not want to hate Molly. Not ever.

“I know you're scared. I was too, believe me.” Molly's voice interrupted Lucy's thoughts. It felt a bit ridiculous. Molly, scared of Hogwarts? Molly wasn't Dom or Jim, who were afraid of nothing, sure, but Molly had been so giddy and happy to go to Hogwarts, she hadn't talked about anything else in weeks before her first year.

Lucy heard Molly chuckling again. “Oh, yes, I was scared. I knew I would miss mum and dad and you terribly. I wrote letters everyday, and I still wasn't sure whether I would manage until Christmas. But, shall I tell you a secret?” Molly dropped her voice conspiratorially. “One day, shortly after Halloween, I was so homesick that I thought I wouldn't be able to take it anymore. I didn't tell Roxy or Dom, because I was scared they would laugh at me. They wouldn't have, because they were just as homesick as I was, at least Roxy was, but we were young and stupid and so we didn't talk about it even though it would probably have helped a lot. So there I was, very homesick and a bit scared, and I wondered what I should do. I could have gone to Vic, or to Teddy or Tommy or Mike or Chelsea or the twins, but I didn't. I decided to go to uncle Remus instead. He's still uncle Remus, you know, just because he's your teacher now doesn't change that fact. I went to him, and he cooked me a hot chocolate and told me stories about his time at school and the shenanigans him and uncle Sirius and James Potter got up too. And I felt better, you know. I really did. I laughed with him and I didn't think about home for some time and it really helped. Then after a while, uncle Remus looked at his watch and said: You know, you're parents should be home by now. If you want to, you can floo them. I considered it, but then told him no. I didn't need it anymore. But if ever really want to, he will let you use his fireplace to firecall home. Believe me.”

Lucy looked around to Molly, who had just finished the braid. Molly smiled warmly. Lucy grinned back. “Thank you.” She said. She could believe it. Uncle Remus would definitively help her, and so would Molly.

“Come on, Lulu, let's not let them win everything.” Molly said and pointed to Becky, Dominique and Roxanne who were still playing.


	10. On the train IX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last "On the train" chapter. It deals with Lily Luna Potter, Hugo Weasley and Olivia Dursley. Enjoy!

It looked rather normal, Liv supposed, as she looked around in the compartment of the Hogwarts express. She wasn't sure what she had expected, but after Uncle Harry's house that burst with magic and the Diagon Alley that was best described as sheer crazy, she had thought the train to the magical school would be somewhat more... special.

Not that she was complaining. It was good to have something normal for a change again. The last two month, ever since she had gotten her Hogwarts letter, had been absolutely insane. She still remembered how heavy and thick the letter had been, and her fathers somehow sad, unsurprised smile. He had later told her that he'd expected it for years, because he'd seen the signs everybody else was happy to ignore or explain away.

Her big brother Bob had been shocked, but then he'd caught himself and hugged her, saying he'd always known she was a special girl. The memory still made Liv feel all warm inside. She and Bob had always been close. Bob was four years older than her, and he was the best big brother a girl could wish for. He always protected her from the bullies in school, played with her, read to her when she was younger. He'd almost never teased her, and he'd not, like other boys, decided it was uncool to spend time with his little sister when he started school. She was a bit scared (okay, very scared) to start school somewhere without him. He'd promised to write her daily, but letters weren't the same thing as having him there with her.

But, it wasn't as if she was going to be alone. As soon as he had assured her mother that it wasn't some sort of joke her father had called her uncle Harry. Uncle Harry wasn't really her uncle, he was her fathers cousin, making him her second cousin once removed, but that was rather much to say, so she and Bob had always called him uncle Harry. They had been very surprised to find out he was a wizard, and by the looks of it, so had their mother. Still, they had gone to visit him, and later they had gone to Diagon Alley together. She'd known her cousin (second cousin, whatever) Lily before, but they'd never been close. Now they were going to be in the same year at the same school. Lily had been very nice so far, and her cousin, Hugo, had been too. Liv hoped it would stay that way. She wouldn't want to be alone in a strange school so far away from home.

She surveyed the compartment. Lily and Hugo shared a bench. They were all tangled up in one another, but Liv was used to that by now. The two of them were very close, and they had a tendency to get into trouble to, from what she'd seen in the last two month. Lily was very outgoing, and seemed absolutely fearless. She had a tendency to act first and then think. She had red hair and lively hazel eyes that always sparkled with mischief. Hugo was quite different. He was quieter, liked to read and think things through before acting. He was brunette with his mothers dark brown eyes. In a way, Liv thought, they balanced each other out perfectly. Lily the reckless one, Hugo the clever one. Liv was not above admitting that she was afraid that she wouldn't find a place in that friendship. She wasn't the most intelligent girl, she usually preferred sports. She was really good at football, but to her horror she'd had to find out that the magical world did not play the sport and instead liked a game called Quidditch. Lily and Hugo had explained the rules to her, and it did seem interesting, but Liv still liked football better. It had always been her sport.

Liv stared at the book in her lap. Hugo's sister Rose had given it to her. “A History of Hogwarts”. Apparently it was the standard work for everyone who wanted to know more about Hogwarts and the magical world. The problem was, Liv had never much cared for books, much less books that weren't fiction. This book wasn't. It was certainly full of interesting facts, but it was absolutely boring to Liv.

She looked up to find Lily looking at her. “Are you actually reading that?” The girl asked, nodding at the book. 

“Trying.” Liv grimaced. “I want to know more about Hogwarts, but the book is dead boring.”

“Of course it is. Aunt Hermione still nags Dad and uncle Ron sometimes because they've never even started to read it. They always say that they didn't need to because she did and would tell them what they needed to know anyway. Seems logical to me, I must admit, and since Hugo here has read it, I won't.” Lily shrugged. Hugo lightly punched her shoulder.

“I tell her that she should read it about every other day, but she never listens. But if you have questions, you can ask me anytime. I've read it.” Hugo said, letting out a sigh. He smiled though.

“Thanks.” Liv said and finally closed the book. She wasn't going to learn anything out of it, anyway. “Is there really no football team in Hogwarts? There have to be enough muggleborn there to start some, aren't there?” She asked.

“Well, I guess nobody thought about it yet. But you're right, about a third of the students are muggleborn, so it should definitively work.” Hugo shrugged.

“You should learn Quidditch. That's way more fun.” Lily piped in as she blew a strand of red hair out of her face. “You know, flying on brooms, and with bludgers and the snitch and everything. Way more exiting than football. There's only one ball in that game, isn't there?” Lily asked. When Liv nodded, the other girl rolled her eyes. “See. Boring.” She said.

“Just 'cause you think something's boring doesn't mean everybody has to agree with you, Lils.” Hugo scolded his cousin gently.

“Would be easier if it did.” Lily said lazily. “I'll show you real Quidditch, Liv. You'll love it, I'm sure.”

Liv grinned. It looked like her year would be fun.


	11. Sorting I & II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here come the sortings! I also wrote the Sortings of my non Weasley OC's, so if you're confused read the On the train chapters where I introduce everyone.

“Black, Thomas” Professor Flitwick squeaked. 

Usually it would be Uncle Remus there, with him being Deputy Headmaster and all, but this year Teddy started and Professor McGonagal had decided that it would be best if uncle Remus was sitting during Teddy's sorting (that was what dad had said, anyway, but dad had had this twinkle in his eyes that he always had when he was joking, so Tommy wasn't sure.)

He walked up to the chair, taking care to not look afraid. He was the son of two Gryffindors, he was not scared. Then the Sorting hat was on his head.

“Ah, a Black.” A quiet voice said. Tommy wasn't sure how to answer. Should he say yes? “I had many of your relatives here, you know. Most of them were Slytherins, but your father was a Gryffindor, and his cousin Andromeda so very clearly a Ravenclaw.”

Yes, Tommy thought. He knew the tales, had his father and Grandma Andy and aunt Tonks tell them more often than he was able to count. “I don't want to be Slytherin.” He thought, not quite sure whether the Hat would hear it.

“There is nothing wrong with Slytherin, you know.” The Hat said. Tommy actually wasn't sure if he knew. In all his parents, uncles and aunt tales the Slytherins ere the bad guys. Only Grandma Andy sometimes smiled sadly when she was asked about Slytherin and said something along the lines of “It's not that easy, sweetie.”

“Your Grandma is right, you know.” The Hat said. Maybe it was right. It was after all over a thousand years old. But Tommy still didn't want to be a Slytherin. “Can't I be a Gryffindor?” He asked. The Hat chuckled. 

“Dear, I never wanted to put you into Slytherin. You're not particularly ambitious, nor are you cunning. It was you who started of Slytherin. Now, run to your desk.” He said before shouting “GRYFFIDNOR” into the hall.

Tommy walked to the Gryffindor desk beaming, even though he was a bit confused. The Hat was a bit crazy, he decided.

xxx

“Collins, Chelsea.” 

Chelsea stood there for a moment, frozen in shock even though she had known she would be one of the next ones. Only when Teddy gently pushed her foreward she began to move.

She was a bit nervous, although not nearly as much that had been sorted before her had been. Maybe it was because her mother wasn't magical, she thought. Mum would be proud, no matter what house she, Chelsea, would be sorted into.

The Hat fell over her eyes, causing her to lose sight of the hall. For a long moment, nothing happened. Then she heard a quiet voice.

“Hmmm...” it said. “There' courage here, and loyalty, you're quite clever too, aren't you? Not Slytherin, but maybe Ravenclaw? Or Gryffindor?” Chelsea smiled. From what she had learned from Teddy, Tommy and Mike, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were both good houses.  
“Could I maybe be with Tommy?” She thought. She wasn't sure if the Hat could hear it, but she thought that she might as well try, and if she was with Tommy than at least she wouldn't be alone.

“Certainly.” the Hat said, sounding very friendly, and then shouted “GRYFFINDOR” into the hall. 

xxx

“Lupin, Edward” 

The hall went quiet, only for a moment, before the whispers picked up. It wasn't every day that Hogwarts welcomed the child of a teacher. Actually, aunt Hermione had told him that he was the first teacher's kid in 150 years. Teddy didn't mind the whispers. They would stop eventually, uncle Harry had told him, and uncle Harry was truly famous, not just the son of a teacher like Teddy. What did bother Teddy a bit was the use of his full name. Sure, it wasn't as awful as his mum's first name (really, who in their right mind named a child “Nymphadora”?) but he still didn't like it too much.

After a short glance to his father, who shot him a reassuring smile, he settled down on the chair and relaxed. “Oh, another Marauder. The teachers will be busy this year, won't they?” The Hat said. Teddy grinned. He wasn't as mischievous as his father could be, but he still liked being compared to the Marauders. “Now, where to put you? You're loyal and fair enough to be a Hufflepuff, and you wouldn't be opposed, I think, with your mother being from that house. But hard work isn't for you. You are clever like a Ravenclaw, too. Did you know that I almost put your father there?” Teddy had known that, but it was still cool to hear it from the Sorting Hat itself. “But I think your best fit is in... GRYFFINDOR!” The last word was shouted loudly. Teddy grinned and ran down to where Tommy and Chelsea were sitting.

xxx

“Weasley, Michael.” 

Mike was the last to be called. He had expected it, of course, with a name starting with W it had to be expected, but he didn't particularly like it. It always felt strange to be called up last. He glanced over to the Gryffindor table and saw Teddy and Tommy giving him a thumbs up while the girl from the train, Chelsea, smiled encouragingly. Then the Hat was on his head.

“Well, this is easy.” It said. “GRYFFINDOR!”

Mike was a bit confused, but walked down to the others. His dad had told him that the Hat sometime decided very quickly, but after Teddy, Tommy and Chelsea all had taken longer, he kind of expected it to be the same for him. But, well, whatever, he was with his friends.

xxx

Two years later

xxx

“Miller, Amy.” 

Amy took a deep breath. There was nothing to be worried about, she knew, but her heart was still beating incredibly fast. She knew that her mother expected her to be a Ravenclaw, and honestly, Amy was okay with that. Her mother had been a Ravenclaw herself, and Amy's mother was an incredible woman, brilliant and beautiful and talented, even though she sometimes was a bit distant. If Amy was perfectly honest, she was closer to her dad, but dad was a muggle, her had never been in Hogwarts. He could not help her here.

With her head held high she walked up to the chair. Professor Lupin smiled at her, and then the Hat was over her eyes.

“Ah, well, this is interesting.” The quiet voice said. Amy had expected it, her mother had explained the Sorting to both Amy and Amy's amused father.

“You have your mother's intelligence, no question, but you are braver than her, and prouder. Gryffindor traits, both. Yes, I would think that fits you best. Unless you object?” The Hat asked.

For a moment Amy was confused. Did the Hat just give her the choice between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor? What house did she want? She had always been so sure she'd be a Ravenclaw, but now... she'd always thought that if her father had come to Hogwarts he'd been a Gryffindor.

“So, that's a yes, I think. GRYFFINDOR!” The Hat screamed. Amy saw the table in red and gold explode into cheers, and that was when she realized that it had really happened, that she really had been sorted into Gryffindor. How would she explain that one to her mother?

xxx

“Richards, Jessica” 

Jess grinned at Victoire next to her and walked to the chair. The teacher holding the Hat, Professor Lupin, Vic had said, smiled at her kindly before she sat down.

“Ah, very well. Quite intelligent, you are, with a thirst for learning. There is loyalty to, and yes, oh yes, quite a bit courage. Now, Ravenclaw or Gryffindor is the question.” A quiet voice said. Jess startled. She didn't know what she expected, but it wasn't this.

Still, she gathered all that courage the Hat had talked about and whispered: “Can I be a Gryffindor? Like Amy? I like Amy.” There was nothing for a moment, than the Hat shouted “GRYFFINDOR” into the hall and Jess, grinning, went to join a beaming Amy.

xxx

“Weasley, Victoire” 

There was only one other child in line when she walks to the chair, smiling at uncle Remus. He smiled back, reassuringly, and put the Hat on her head.

“Well, aren't you interesting.” The Hat said quietly. “I see cleverness, and a thirst for learning. There is a certain ambition, and yes, a bit cunning. Daring and courage, too, and loyalty. Now, where do I put you? You would do well in every house, I should think, but Hufflepuff values hard work far more than you do, and you are not quite cunning enough to be the first Weasley in Slytherin, I would say. Ravenclaw would be a good fit, I think, but Gryffindor would be just as good.”

The Hat continued to whisper, and Victoire felt herself getting antsy. She had of course heard of hatstalls, but she had never expected herself to be one. Eventually, she whispered: “Can I be a Gryffindor? My whole family was there.” 

The Hat stopped for a moment, maybe to consider her words, than he shouted “GRYFFINDOR!”. Victoire smiled and ran down where she was greeted loudly by her cousins and Amy and Jess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! A review would be awesome!


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